What Does the DDHPL Do?

The Del Dios Habitat Protection League is a grass roots, local volunteer group formed to act as local stewards of the environment along the shores and watercourses of Lake Hodges.

Since 2010 and the aftermath of the 2007 Witch Creek Fire, the League has worked with partners to make habitat restoration happen.

We have an excellent relationships with the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department and and directly support the City's MHCP/MSCP conservation goals.

Every year we hold 2 large public events with I Love a Clean San Diego - Creek to Bay Clean up in April and Coast Clean Up Day in October.

We have a core group of volunteers who have personally cut, treated hauled and stacked thousands of eucalyptus along the north shore of Lake Hodges. We are now focused on planting native oaks willow and sycamores into our riparian corridors.

We partnered with the Del Dios Mutual Water Company in the removal of biomass for the fire safety of our residents.

We never would have gotten off the ground without help from the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy's holding work parties to get us started and introduce us to Mike Kelly, the Conservation Chair of the Friends of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve. With Mike's guidance, the NRCS awarded funding for the Oak Woodland Restoration and Fire Fuel Reduction Project in 2014.

A new chapter opens with the confirmation of GSOB (Golden Spotted Oak Borer) on Mt Israel and in Del Dios. We are working tirelessly to inform our neighbors with the source information of what is known about this invasive non-native beetle and what can be done to protect our trees. In the week of June 7th, 2017 we held an educational Fire House presentation and a separate Hands on Class on Mt Israel for recognizing GSOB, its life cycle and treatment.

We are surveying trees and sharing information of best practices, treatments and homeowner advice. We are working with CalFire, Rancho Santa Fe Fire District and the Del Dios Mutual Water Company to serve our communities and keeping our oaks healthy.